U.S. Dollar Regains Ground Following Yesterday's Nosedive

(RTTNews) - Following the nosedive seen during trading on Tuesday, the value of the U.S. dollar has regained some ground on Wednesday.

The U.S. dollar index is rising 0.36 points or 0.3 percent to 104.41 after plunging to its lowest levels in over two months on Tuesday.

The greenback is trading at 151.37 yen compared to the 150.37 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0846 compared to yesterday's $1.0879.

The rebound by the dollar comes after the Commerce Department released a report showing U.S. retail sales edged down by less than expected in the month of October.

The Commerce Department said retail sales slipped by 0.1 percent in October after jumping by an upwardly revised 0.9 percent in September.

Economists had expected retail sales to dip by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.7 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding a decrease in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales inched up by 0.1 percent in October after climbing by 0.8 percent in September. Ex-auto sales were expected to come in unchanged.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York also released a report showing a significant turnaround in regional manufacturing activity in the month of November.

The New York Fed said its general business conditions index surged to a positive 9.1 in November from a negative 4.6 in October, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to rise to a negative 2.8.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a Labor Department report showing an unexpected decrease in U.S. producer prices in the month of October.

The Labor Department said its producer price index fell by 0.5 percent in October after rising by a revised 0.4 percent in September.

Producer prices were expected to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.5 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth slowed to 1.3 percent in October from 2.2 percent in September. Economists had expected the pace of price growth to slow to 1.9 percent.